Surface Engineering Specialist

HEF has introduced into India quite a few surface treatments and coatings like Sursulf, Arcor, Tribomol, to improve the physical and metallurgical properties of ferrous and non-ferrous materials.

Hydromecanique Et Frottement (HEF) is a French Company, founded by JJ Caubet in 1953. Basically, this company started with a research centre concentrating on surface engineering, and specialising in reducing the problems related to surfaces of components like friction, corrosion, fatigue, scuffing, seizure, and wear. The centre has invented and patented many types of surface treatments capable of resolving such problems.

HEF started their operations in India during 198-84 with a techno-commercial collaboration with one of the TVS group companies, Tribology India. Through this company, HEF has introduced in India many surface treatments and coatings like Sursulf, Arcor, Tribomol to name a few to improve the physical and metallurgical properties of ferrous and non-ferrous materials. Taking advantage of globalisation in India, in 2000 HEF started their hundred per cent owned company at Chennai called HEF Indi,a ending their collaboration agreement with Tribology India.

During 2002, HEF strengthened its competencies, notably through the acquisition of companies such as Durferrit, Germany (authors of Tuftride, Tenifer, QPQ and Melonite Processes), Clerc & Cardone, France (a pioneering bushings company) and Kolene, USA (in the business of surface treatments). With these acquisitions, HEF Group had confirmed their leadership that has made it a key player in its field of excellence, namely surface engineering. Within this sphere of competencies, the HEF-Durferrit group is able to cater for all surface engineering needs: research and development, advice and technical support, processing, technology transfer, manufacture of furnace and other related equipment, and surface engineered precision components. The powerful international network of HEF-Durferrit enables them to offer same service and the same attention whether the customer is in Europe, Asia or in the American continent.

There are three distinct branches of the group at the disposition of customers:

HEF: Centre for Research and Testing, employing 20 per cent of the manpower of the group for the latter purposes, or working outside where their competence is recognised and applied in numerous fields such as the automobile, aeronautical, armament and electronic industries, etc.Techniques Surfaces (TS): comprising several establishments around the globe doing sub-contract work for customers and thus ensuring the development of the HEF process in industry.HEF-Durferrit: This is a marketing wing of the group and technical sales team of this group travel around the world in order to listen to the customer, to diagnose and resolve the problems of friction, wear and corrosion; and provide services offering the knowhow, equipment, treatment materials, control instrumentation; after sale service, process control, testing, etc.

Today, the Indian operations of HEF group has been managed by the following independent hundred per cent French-owned companies, each specialising in some specific areas: